


There's No Turning Back Now

by Sxymami0909, xtremeroswellian



Series: Weight Of The World [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Stiles, Banshee Lydia Martin, Bows & Arrows, Derek Uses His Words, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Hurt Lydia, Jackson is an asshat, Lydia Finds Out, Sassy Lydia, Werewolf Hunters, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 01:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3339296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sxymami0909/pseuds/Sxymami0909, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two weeks have passed since Stiles became the alpha and things are changing fast. New arrivals in town bring with them a new level of fear and just when Stiles thought things couldn’t get any more complicated dead bodies are popping up in the preserve. And if that wasn’t enough everyone’s favorite strawberry blonde is smack dab in the middle of it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's No Turning Back Now

Stiles slid his books into his locker and shut the locker door before making his way across the hallway to where Scott was doing the same. “So I don’t know about you, but I’m sincerely hoping this isn’t another ‘You and Sex’ kind of assembly, because I have to say that I’m still traumatized from the last time and haven’t eaten bananas since then.” He leaned against the locker beside his best friend and arched his eyebrows.   
  
Scott chuckled as he tossed his textbook into his locket and pulled out a smaller book for English and his notebook. “Yeah, I don’t need anymore sex education, especially if it involves fruit. I’m good,” he said before shutting his locker door and facing Stiles. “Plus I’ve got Google,” he joked.   
  
“And I have internet porn,” Stiles responded arching his eyebrows. “Which is a lot more entertaining than assemblies.” At least Scott had Allison.   
  
Scott snorted. “You know, you’re an alpha now dude.” He glanced sideways at his best friend as they started making their way down the hall. “That’s like an apex predator or something. I bet with a little bit more confidence you can get yourself a _real_ girl instead of porn.” He teased lightly.   
  
He snorted, too. “Yeah, well. I don’t think that’s probably gonna happen anytime soon, so don’t begrudge a man his porn.”   
  
Scott rolled his eyes, “Why not?” He asked glancing at his best friend. It had been a couple of weeks since the whole Peter debacle and things had been quiet. “We’ve got a school full of hot girls, none as hot as my girlfriend of course,” he grinned, “But very hot nonetheless. So what’s the problem?”   
  
“Because there’s only one hot girl at this school that I’m interested in,” he said honestly. He was pretty sure Scott was going to roll his eyes again, but he shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve always had one best friend, and I’ve always had one girl that I’ve always wanted.”   
  
Scott nodded, “Okay, so again I ask, what are you waiting for? You realize you’ve got a better shot with Lydia now than you ever had before right?” he asked amused. “She sits with us at lunch, we’ve spent time at her house, and last Friday she was at the lacrosse game with Allison cheering _us_ on.” He told Stiles as he patted his back. “I think Lydia has been primed for some Stiles action for a while,” Scott teased.   
  
“It’s been like two weeks, Scott. And you know, I don’t like, wanna be her rebound guy after Jackson,” he admitted with a sigh. “Plus there’s that whole thing where she has no idea what I am. And what if it just -- what if it puts her in even more danger than she’s already been in, just by being around me?” He glanced at his friend sideways before leading the way into the gym and over to the bleachers.   
  
Scott sighed as he followed Stiles, “I get it, trust me I do, but you can’t live always hiding out and afraid to get close to anyone because they might get hurt.” He paused, brows drawing together, “That’s not really living,” he said as he spotted Allison a soft smile pulling at his lips. “All I’m saying is it wouldn’t hurt to spend more time with Lydia, get to know each other, become friends. You never know where that’ll lead later on.” He replied simply.   
  
Except that was sort of the way he’d always lived, really. Except for his friendship with Scott anyway. He sighed and reluctantly moved over to where Allison was sitting, watching as she moved her coat for the two of them to sit down. “Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, elbowing Scott lightly in the ribs.   
  
Scott grinned at his friend before glancing at Allison, his expression softening as he sat beside her. “Hey,” he said before leaning in and pressing a light kiss to her cheek. “Thanks for saving us seats.” He commented.   
  
Allison smiled. “I was actually saving it for Lydia, but you got here first.” Her voice was light and teasing.   
  
Ugh. Stiles rubbed a hand over his face. If the two of them got anymore ridiculously couple-ish, he was going to vomit.   
  
Scott pouted, “Oh, nice I see how it is. So Lydia takes precedence over me?” He glanced at Allison from beneath his lashes, “But _I_ love you.” He told her matter-of-factly as he threaded their fingers together and brought her hand to his lips pressing a kiss there.   
  
Her eyes were bright. “And I love you, too, but I also love Lydia because she’s my best friend. You know, like you and Stiles.” She leaned against his side, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand.   
  
Scott grunted. “Oh fine,” he said, but there was a grin on his lips. “Where is that best friend of yours, hm?” He asked lightly as he squeezed her hand gently.   
  
Stiles shifted beside Scott, nodding to the gym entrance where Lydia had paused, having a rather heated conversation with Jackson from the looks of it. And he knew it would be wrong for him to listen in on said conversation with his werewolf powers, but he found himself doing it anyway.   
  
Lydia frowned, “Look we’re supposed to be in an assembly right now. Allison is waiting for me. I don’t have time for you and your nonsense,” she told him her tone clipped. “I don’t have anything of yours,” She told him, which okay was a lie, but really who cared other than Jackson? Lydia started to turn and walk away from him tired of his attitude.   
  
He reached out and grabbed her arm. “You have my letterman’s jacket. And the key to my house. I want them back,” he said, glaring at her. “And all my CDs, too.”   
  
Lydia flinched and tugged her arm out of his hand, before whirling around her curls moving with her. “Yeah well if you haven’t noticed the weather is gorgeous today,” she glanced down at the green dress she wore, “And I’m not wearing your jacket. So it’s not with me. You’ll get it back when I have it, and not a second before,” she told him keeping her tone bored.   
  
“I have other things to worry about than what you feel you need or deserve Jackson. My life no longer revolves around you,” Lydia told him pointedly.   
  
“I’ll come by after school’s over,” he informed her, eyes dark and narrowed as he continued to glare at her. “And your dress isn’t very flattering.” He smirked at her before moving away, heading toward the bleachers.   
  
Lydia pursed her lips, her chest tightening at his words. The comment hurt more than she would have liked. She ignored the pain in her chest and instead focused on her anger. “I won’t be home.” She called out to him as she stepped into the gym, heels clicking loudly against the floor as she walked around him quickly. “You’ll get your stuff when I feel like it,” she snapped over her shoulder as she passed him gripping her biology book tighter.   
  
“Douchebag,” Stiles muttered under his breath, jaw tightening as his eyes followed Jackson as he climbed into the bleachers with a smirk. He turned his attention back to Lydia, watching as hurt flickered over her face for the briefest of seconds before disappearing as she stomped in their general direction.   
  
Lydia stepped up the bleachers and spotted Allison, Scott and Stiles right by her. She pursed her lips and paused not seeing a clear path to Allison so instead she plopped down on the bleachers next to Stiles resting her books next to her before leaning forward slightly catching her best friend’s gaze. “Sorry I’m late,” she said keeping her tone light.   
  
“You’re not,” Allison told her with a small smile, glancing at her, completely unaware of what had just transpired.   
  
“Yes, our mystery assembly hasn’t begun yet,” Stiles told her. “So you haven’t missed anything.” He shifted a little, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, glancing at her and offering her a soft smile. “You look really beautiful today.”   
  
Lydia paused at Stiles’ words, her expression softening considerably as she met his gaze, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. “Thanks,” she replied softly not sure what else to say. Had it been anyone else she probably would have rolled her eyes and let whoever it was know that she always looked good, but it was Stiles and...well he was sort of sweet. He had a way of always knowing what she needed to hear.   
  
“You’re welcome,” he said just as softly, ducking his head a little and biting his lip.   
  
Lydia smirked and shook her head, Stiles was an enigma. “Have a good weekend?” She asked while glancing sideways at him.   
  
“Yeah, it was okay,” he told her, nodding. “Spent most of it just...studying and doing homework.” He shot a glance at Scott but didn’t bother to nudge him since he wasn’t paying any attention anyway. “How about you? How were all things pool and relaxation-wise?”   
  
Lydia arched an amused eyebrow, “Is that all you think I do?” She asked with a small grin.   
  
“Well, no, of course not. But I thought that’s what the whole plan was for the weekend?”   
  
Lydia shrugged. “Plans changed,” she said lightly. “I did some studying and then went shopping with Allison,” she said with a shrug her gaze traveling towards the stage. Her mom had been out of town again so she’d tried to stay out as long as possible before coming home to an empty house. Typically she’d invite Jackson to stay with her, but he’d made it clear that wasn’t an option anymore. Lydia felt a twinge in her chest and she swallowed hard. “I wonder what’s going on with the out of the blue assembly,” she commented.   
  
“Oh.” He looked forward too, falling silent and shrugging. “Been wondering about it since this morning in homeroom,” he admitted. “I think we all have.”   
  
Scott nodded, “We have,” he commented glancing at Stiles and Lydia with a grin. “And I’m pretty sure we’re about to find out,” he motioned toward the stage where the vice principal made his way out onto the stage.   
  
“All right, let’s get quiet,” Mr. Vanderlaan requested over the microphone. When the students grew silent -- or as silent as an auditorium of ever really got anyway -- he continued. “Today’s assembly is to introduce our new school principal.” He glanced around.   
  
Stiles arched his eyebrows. “They couldn’t just do this over morning announcements?” he mumbled.   
  
Scott snickered at Stiles’ comment. “Dude we’re missing class, which I’ve gotta say I’m happy about,” he whispered with a grin.   
  
Lydia was frowning though. “That’s weird, Principal Westmore wasn’t due to be replaced for another two years, I wonder why he stepped down,” she said lightly as the vice principal continued talking about what an honor it was and so on, Lydia tuned him out as her gaze drifted to Jackson sitting with Danny.   
  
Stiles followed her gaze and grimaced, sighing inaudibly and facing forward once more as an older man walked into the gym. He looked...way too old to be a principal, actually. He was dressed in a nice suit and tie but the smile on his face was way too practiced, way too _broad_ to be genuine. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he looked at Scott sideways.   
  
“Gerard?” Allison muttered, sounding stunned.   
  
Scott turned his head so he was facing Allison when she spoke a name. “You know him?” He asked confused.   
  
Lydia arched an eyebrow and glanced at her best friend. “Well I would think so,” she commented before catching Allison’s gaze. “Did you know about this?” She asked though by the look on her friends face she didn’t think she did.   
  
“No, I had no idea. I didn’t even know he was planning to stay in town,” Allison admitted.   
  
“Okay I feel like I’m missing some vital piece of information here,” Stiles said, pausing as the older man stepped up to the microphone.   
  
“Hello, students of Beacon Hills. My name is Principal Argent,” the man announced, looking around at all of them.   
  
And that, Stiles thought, is the sound of the other shoe dropping.   


______

  
  
Stiles pushed his bedroom door open and headed inside, dropping his bookbag onto the floor by his desk and raking a hand through his short hair. He didn’t bother turning on the light because there was still enough light coming through the window even as the sun set, that he didn’t need it yet. He dropped into his desk chair and opened his macbook, turning it on and leaning back as he waited for it to load up.   
  
Gerard Argent was the new school principal. A werewolf hunter.   
  
Things just kept getting better in Beacon Hills. He chewed his thumbnail, bouncing his foot on the floor and then sitting forward a little as the startup screen on his computer came on. He moved his fingers over the built in mousepad and clicked on _Firefox_ , waiting for a browser to load next.   
  
Derek shifted out of the shadows and stepped forward so he was just behind Stiles, his gaze on the teenagers computer. He’d gotten to the Stilinski house about fifteen minutes prior and had been waiting for Stiles to get home. “Researching the newest Argent in town?” He inquired quietly.   
  
“Gah!” Stiles flinched and jumped out of his chair, whirling around with wide eyes. “You. _Bell._ ” His heart was still beating hard in his chest. “Dude, what the hell?”   
  
Derek smirked and slid his hands into his pockets, amusement coloring his expression. “You’re a werewolf.” He commented. “You should have felt me the second you came into the room.” He told him with a lazy shrug. “You should work on that.”   
  
“Excuse me but I’m not expecting to be ambushed in my own house,” he responded with a roll of his eyes. “Although considering the source, I _should_ be.”   
  
Derek frowned, “If this is what you call an ambush, we’ve got a problem,” he admitted casually. “So Gerard. We should talk about that.” He said shifting on his feet uncomfortably.   
  
“It’s just a phrase,” Stiles told him with a slight sigh, folding his arms across his chest. “I was gonna call you and let you know about that.”   
  
Derek nodded. “I knew the minute Gerard came back to town.” He admitted. “He isn’t a pleasant guy. He makes Chris look like a saint.” He explained as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed them over his chest.   
  
“Yeah, I got that feeling,” he admitted, sighing as he dropped back into his chair, troubled.   
  
Derek was silent for a minute, “You need a pack.” He told the teenager, his brows drawing together. “It’s the only way you and Scott are going to make it through Gerard being here alive.” Derek said matter-of-factly. He remembered what the older man was like, ruthless, cunning, and completely lacking of any and all compassion.   
  
Stiles raised his eyebrows. “I guess that means you’re...accepting me as your alpha?” he asked uncertainly. Except no, he had a feeling there was more to it than that. If that was any part of what Derek meant at all. It was kind of hard to tell with the guy sometimes.   
  
Derek watched Stiles for a minute before chuckling. His body actually shook with the deep laugh for a good minute before he was able to reel it in. He grinned, “That’s adorable,” He responded. “No that’s not going to happen,” he paused, “At least not now.” He added.   
  
“You need to create your own pack,” he explained simply.   
  
Stiles rolled his eyes as Derek laughed at him, even though he was only mildly annoyed. He shrugged a little. “I have Scott already.” And he supposed that if humans counted as pack the way Scott had been so convinced about a few months ago, he may also have Allison, too. And possibly Lydia. Except not. Because she had no idea he was even a werewolf.   
  
Derek watched Stiles for a minute sensing his annoyance. “Look,” he paused and motioned to the edge of the bed, “Can I sit?”   
  
“Yeah. Go ahead.” He watched him closely, trying to figure out what he was getting at with all of this.   
  
Derek sat down, shifting for a minute before looking back at Stiles. “I didn’t mean to be,” he paused searching for the right word, “an ass.” He said bluntly. “But right now even though you’re technically an alpha, you’re...not.” He grunted. “I don’t mean that in an offensive way. You just need to...you know step up and then I’ll reevaluate.” He commented clearing his throat.   
  
“But, the more people that are in a pack, the more power the alpha has and honestly you could use a bit of an advantage since you’re so new,” Derek explained, “So, why not make a few wolves.”   
  
Stiles was silent for a moment, not taking offense to Derek’s words because hell. He knew the guy was actually right. He’d been saying the same thing since the night he’d accidentally killed Peter. He wasn’t cut out for this. But then he paused, staring at him and trying to figure out if he was serious.   
  
“You want me to _bite_ people and turn them into werewolves.” It wasn’t a question. That was definitely what Derek was suggesting.   
  
Derek nodded. “Yes,” he held up a hand before Stiles could say anything, “And I’m not talking about the way Peter did things.” He hesitated, “I’ve been doing some research and scouting out the town and people,” which was true, “and what I’m asking is if there were people who knew about werewolves and what they were and all the good and bad things that come along with it and still wanted the bite, would you be willing to give it to them to create a pack for yourself.”   
  
He stared at him blankly. “First of all, I’d kind of question that person’s sanity, considering,” he told Derek after another long moment. “But right now I’m kind of busy questioning yours because...are you _kidding_ me? Why would I do this to someone else?”   
  
Derek pursed his lips feeling mildly offended by Stiles’ words. “There are worse things in the world then being what we are.” He said quietly. “We could be monsters like the Argents, well, like 90 percent of the Argents.” He added.   
  
“You might hate what you are now, but some of us didn’t ask for this, it’s just what we are and we don’t look at it like some curse.” Derek said trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “I get this is hard for you and it’s hard for Scott and it sucks that you didn’t get a choice. But if there are people with terrible lives, people dealing with things that...by human standards are horrible and they wanted this, why wouldn’t you give it to them?”   
  
He drew in a deep breath and looked down for a moment. “Look, I’m not...trying to be offensive. I’m really not. Okay? I don’t have anything against werewolves. And yes, I get that there are worse things that could happen. Like getting killed by hunters. Or other werewolves. Or whatever else might be out there.”   
  
Stiles looked up at him again. “But that’s -- what you’re asking -- it’s not...I’m not cut out for this life, Derek. You know it and I know it. So how am I supposed to just turn a bunch of people -- whether they want it or not -- and _not_ be responsible if something even worse happens to them?”   
  
Derek pursed his lips. He was silent for several minutes trying to come up with a way to make Stiles understand, but the truth was he wasn’t good at this shit. He told it like it was and that was that. “You’re going to have to get over that and deal with it.” He winced at his tone. “Stiles whether you want this or not, you have it. And if you don’t start accepting it and learning quickly you’re going to get yourself killed.” He said as he met the teenager’s gaze.   
  
“Is that fair? No, but it’s the truth. Scott might be able to sugarcoat it, but I won’t. People will come, other wolves and I’ll be damned if I let someone try to claim this town as their own. This is my town,” he made a face, “my family’s town.” Derek corrected. “So I’d die trying to protect it, but I’m not the alpha. They aren’t coming for me and without a pack all that’s left between Beacon Hills and other packs of werewolves taking it over is you.” He said punctuating his words by pointing at Stiles.   
  
His stomach twisted at Derek’s words and he looked away, wanting to point out that he was _sixteen_ years old and he’d literally only been a werewolf for a couple of weeks. A long, terrible kind of two weeks. “How am I supposed to teach someone else about how to do this when _I_ don’t even know how to do this?” he asked, voice earnest. Okay, maybe he’d helped Scott when he’d first been turned, but there was a pretty big difference between being on the outside of the situation and being right in the middle of it.   
  
He rubbed his hands over his face. “I was born here, too, you know? And yeah, I get that it’s different, but it isn’t like I don’t care about this town. I mean, my dad’s the sheriff, okay? Caring about the town it sort of in my blood. But let’s be realistic -- any alpha that comes here to challenge me or throw down the gauntlet or whatever is going to win because I’m a _teenager_ who has no idea what the hell I’m doing.”   
  
Derek studied Stiles for a minute taking in his words. “I’ll teach you,” he said simply. “If you let me, I will help you. I might not be an alpha, but I’ve been around them my entire life. And whether or not I’m in your pack, we have a common goal Stiles.” He leaned forward resting his arms on his knees. “If another alpha came here,” really it was when, “I would fight beside you. So would Scott. You wouldn’t be alone.”   
  
Derek glanced down at his hands. “It isn’t easy being sixteen. And this isn’t going to make it any easier. And I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to do, but it’s the smart choice Stiles. If I was in your position the first thing I’d be doing is creating myself a pack.” He sighed.   
  
“Regardless of what you decide if you need help, you can ask. I know I’m not the most...approachable person. But I tried to help Scott and well he didn’t really want my help. He had you. But things are different now and I think you both need to learn more about what you are and how to protect yourselves.”   
  
He’d given Scott so much crap over the past few months about turning to Derek for any kind of help, and now he felt sort of bad about that. Because yeah, a lot of times Derek came off as being an ass, but right now he was offering help and Stiles wasn’t stupid enough to think he wasn’t going to need it.   
  
Stiles leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, as well and looking at the floor. “All right.” He looked up at him. “I’ll think about it. I’m not making any promises beyond that right now.” Because for one, he needed to talk to Scott.   
  
Derek nodded and pushed himself up so he was standing. “Okay,” he shrugged. “Scott’s not going to like it,” he added already knowing what Stiles was going to do. “Just a word of caution.” He glanced around the room, “Well I’ll let myself out. You should try to be more aware of your surroundings.”   
  
No, Scott probably wasn’t going to like it at all. Stiles didn’t even really like it. But he was also a bit more open-minded generally. He drew in a breath and gave Derek a sarcastic smile and the thumb’s up. “Duly noted.”   
  
Derek’s lip twitched and he nodded before disappearing from Stiles’ room, which really was just him moving out the window super fast.   
  
Stiles rolled his eyes and sat back in his computer chair. “So dramatic,” he mumbled.   


______

  
  
Lydia rubbed some lotion into her skin as she walked toward the pool, her bare feet moving over the damp grass. It was late afternoon, early evening really and she was trying to detox from a long day. Her homework was done, Allison had family stuff to deal with, and she was alone for the remainder of the night. Lydia wiped off her hands, the cover up she wore hiding her black bikini. She glanced up ready to to take a quick dip in the pool and froze in her tracks. What the hell? Lydia looked around confusion filling her face when she spotted trees surrounding her.   
  
How the hell had she gotten into the woods? She was just at home...wasn’t she? Lydia frowned her heartbeat picking up speed as she continued to walk careful of anything that might be on the ground. Lydia swallowed hard hesitating briefly before turning and moving towards the left.   
  
She wasn’t sure why, but it was almost like something was pulling her in that direction, so she kept on moving. Lydia glanced around taking everything in seconds before bumping into something hard. She glanced down to see if it was a tree root and froze completely at the sight in front of her.   
  
Lydia’s heartbeat picked up speed and she shifted back several steps, “Oh my god,” she whispered panic building in her chest. There was a body in front of her. A _human_ body cut in _half_. A heavy pressure settled in Lydia chest as she stumbled back away from the body. Before she knew what was happening her mouth was opening and she was screaming at the top of her lungs the sound echoing through the empty woods.   


________

  
  
Stiles was driving his jeep around aimlessly, trying to be patient and wait for Scott to return his call. He was probably busy with Allison, and he understood that. At least he understood it more now than he had a few months before. He nearly veered off the road at the sound of the scream. Familiar and terrifying. He slammed on the brakes immediately, half expecting to see Lydia Martin materialize in front of him on the road, but she wasn’t there.   
  
“What the hell?” he whispered, gripping tightly onto the steering wheel. He looked around, heart beating hard in his chest but still didn’t see where she was. But he’d heard her. It had definitely been Lydia. But where the hell was she?   
  
Feeling anxious, Stiles pulled the jeep off onto the side of the road near the preserve and climbed out of the vehicle, shutting the door behind him and closing his eyes. He could smell just a trace of her perfume. She was nearby, but not super close. And she was terrified. Why the hell else would she have screamed like that?   
  
He moved toward the woods, stopping after a few yards and listening intently. He could hear the sound of a heartbeat -- fast and unsteady. He felt his own heart quicken in his chest. She was in some kind of trouble. And that was when he realized he could hear two more heartbeats -- far more calm than hers.   
  
Stiles ran through the woods toward the sound of her heartbeat, hearing another sound -- something unfamiliar that he didn’t recognize, but his instincts told him it wasn’t good.   
  
Lydia’s head whipped around her brows drawing together as a whistling sound flew through the air in her direction and then an arrow embedded itself in the tree beside her causing a sharp cry to fall from her throat. Fear coursed through her and she turned once again stumbling away from the body and ran. She ignored the rocks, leaves, and branches beneath her feet and moved fast the familiar sound of an arrow sailing through the air again.   
  
They were getting closer, whoever was out there whoever had killed that guy was coming for her and Lydia had no idea why. Her hair flew behind her, curls bouncing every time she had to jump over a tree’s roots. “Please let them be far enough away that they can’t find me,” and the second the worse left her mouth another arrow sailed through the air, this one grazing the skin of her arm causing her to cry out.   
  
Lydia’s breathing was heavy and she was pretty sure she’d never been this scared in her entire life and that was saying something.   
  
Stiles saw her up ahead, and he felt more than saw the next arrow that was aimed at her. A burst of fear made him speed toward her more quickly than he even realized he was capable of moving and he wrapped his arms around her, moving her out of the way just before the arrow would have lodged in her _head_. He didn’t stop to ask questions, simply picked her up and kept going, running until they were at the opposite edge of the forest before he stopped, chest heaving as he turned to look over his shoulder even though she was still wrapped up tightly in his arms.   
  
Hunters, he thought, shutting his eyes and listening. They were pretty far away, thankfully.   
  
Lydia’s eyes were shut tightly, hands gripping the warm body that was holding onto her even as fear curled inside of her. Wind had whirled around her seconds before and it felt like she’d been flying...sort of. Her arm throbbed slightly and she briefly wondered who the hell had saved her and if they were a friend or foe.   
  
His focus shifted quickly because now that he wasn’t running, he could smell blood. He quickly pulled back away from her with wide eyes. “Are you _hurt?_ ” His gaze raked over her as he held his breath. It dawned on him a second too late that there was no longer any way he could remain anonymous in this situation. Not that he would have been able to anyway. He couldn’t and wouldn’t leave her in the middle of nowhere when hunters were after her.   
  
Lydia’s eyes flew open at the sound of his voice. “Stiles?” She whispered his name as her hands unclenched. She didn’t pull them away from him though as she studied his face. “What...how’d...your eyes,” she said as she watched a faint glow coming from them. Lydia swallowed heavily, “What the hell is going on?” She finally got out as she held his gaze, heart still pounding frantically against her chest.   
  
Stiles quickly shut his eyes, glad he hadn’t fully wolfed out because he was pretty sure that was grounds for a massive freak-out. Like glowing red _eyes_ weren’t enough. He forced himself to take a deep breath. “Yeah, there’s...some weird stuff going on in this town,” he said quietly, stomach tightening into a knot at the rapid beating of her heart.   
  
Lydia searched Stiles’ face and she pursed his lips, “This has to do with the night I was attacked doesn’t it? You know the man...the _thing_ that attacked me. You’re...are you,” Lydia stepped back from him and crossed her arms over her chest wincing when it pulled at the cut on her arm, but she stood her ground. “What are you Stiles Stilinski?” She demanded, “And if you lie to me, we’re done right here and I never want to see you again.” Lydia warned her tone matter-of-factly.   
  
He flinched at her words. _What are you_. He opened his eyes but didn’t look at her, hoping his eyes weren’t glowing anymore. “Yeah. Yeah, it does,” he admitted, shame and guilt in his voice. He felt ill, unable to look her in the face. He wondered if this was how Scott had felt with Allison just a couple weeks ago. “Look, I’ll...tell you what you want to know. Just -- we need to get out of here before the hunters find us.”   
  
“No, now.” Lydia said sternly. “Tell me now or I’m not going anywhere with you.” She could hear sounds in the distance and she swallowed hard. “Stiles, please.” she said her voice softer now. She needed to know.   
  
He could hear the sounds in the distance, too. Coming closer every moment. He raked a hand through his hair as fear shot through him. “I’m a _werewolf_ ,” he whispered. “And those people in the woods? They’re werewolf _hunters_. So we really need to get the hell out of here because I’d rather not die tonight and I’d rather you didn’t either.”   
  
Lydia stared at Stiles for a solid minute before nodding, “Okay.” She arched an eyebrow when he stood there just staring at her, “Well, do that thing you did, take me home, hello,” she motioned behind them, “There are people trying to shoot me with arrows.” Lydia said indignantly.   
  
Stiles blinked a couple of times and then closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her. “Hold on,” he told her quietly, not giving her a chance to respond before he picked her up and rushed them through the woods and to his jeep.   
  
Lydia leaned into Stiles as wind rushed into her and before she knew what was happening he was setting her on her feet. She watched him for a minute pressing her lips together as a shiver ran down her spine. It was getting cooler, though that wasn’t surprising since it was a lot later than she remembered it being. Lydia glanced around them before looking back at Stiles, “No one’s home at my house if you need a place to stay until Robin hood and his merry band of murderers are gone.” She offered.   
  
He pursed his lips as he stared at her for a moment before reaching out and opening the passenger side door of his jeep. He glanced down, noticing for the first time that she was barefoot. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her for a moment, wondering what she’d been doing wandering around the woods barefoot. Or wandering the woods at all, for that matter. Lydia wasn’t exactly a one-with-nature kind of girl as far as he knew. Plus it was late.   
  
“Yeah, probably a good idea,” he said after a second longer. More for her safety than his own. The hunters had seen _her_. He was going to have to have a very serious conversation with Chris Argent.   
  
Lydia got into the jeep letting Stiles close the door behind her. She watched as he walked around to the other side of the jeep, got in and started the car. She didn’t need to tell him how to get to her house he already knew. Less than ten minutes later Stiles was pulling into her driveway and parking the jeep. Lydia let out a breath. “You should come inside.” She had more questions and now that he had finally stopped lying to her, Lydia could show him exactly what she’d been spending her time doing lately.   
  
Stiles shut off the engine and sat still for a moment, then turned his head to look at her silently. He had a lot of questions of his own, like why wasn’t she freaking out. He nodded and climbed out of the jeep, pocketing his keys as his mind spun.   
  
Lydia pushed open the door and got out also, wincing slightly when her feet hit the pavement. Now that most of the adrenaline was gone her body was starting to ache slightly. She wasn’t exactly one to go running around anywhere let alone the woods. She didn’t bother going towards the front door and instead went straight for the open gate that led to her backyard. That must have been how she left the house.   
  
Lydia swallowed hard not turning to make sure Stiles was following her, she knew he would be. She walked through the back climbed up the small step and moved straight to the doors, pushing them open and stepping inside. Lydia was quiet as she stood there just staring at the kitchen trying to process everything that had just happened and what she’d seen.   
  
He could tell by the way she was acting that she wasn’t really okay. What he didn’t know if it was because she was in shock because she’d nearly been killed by werewolf hunters, or because she’d found out werewolves were real, or because of some other reason all together. Whatever it was, it was making him more than a little uneasy.   
  
Stiles followed her into the kitchen, hesitating and taking his shoes off at the door, leaving them on the rug so he didn’t drag in dirt. “Lydia? Are you all right?” he asked uncertainly.   
  
Lydia took a deep breath and turned around so she was facing Stiles, not quite able to hide the way her eyes glistened. “I don’t know.” She said quietly as she raised her gaze to meet his. “The werewolf thing...it makes sense. Logically probably not, but from what I remember of that night, I think I might have known and just...my brain wouldn’t let me believe it. I remember the monster he became. His eyes...the pain and the feeling I got right before.” Lydia leaned back against the counter. Pure fear had ripped through her that night before teeth and claws dug into her body. Lydia studied Stiles. “You’re different,” she commented. “Do you, he was, it’s different?” It was a question, but also a feeling. Lydia wasn’t afraid of Stiles, if anything it was the opposite.   
  
He felt his throat constrict at the sight of her unshed tears and guilt swept over him. If he’d just gotten there a couple seconds faster that night maybe everything would have been different. If he’d gotten to her in time, maybe Peter wouldn’t have hurt her at all. “I’m _so_ sorry,” he whispered. He looked down at the floor. “Peter was crazy.”   
  
Lydia’s brows drew together, “It’s not your fault,” she told him before glancing at one of the chairs and moving towards it to sit. Her feet were killing her. Lydia dropped down in the chair and motioned to the others in case Stiles wanted to sit. “Was?” She asked, “Did the hunters get him?” She asked her voice hopeful. Lydia still had nightmares about that night, nightmares that he’d come back and finish the job too.   
  
Except it was. Kind of. He looked down at her feet. “You’re bleeding,” he whispered. He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you have bandages and peroxide? We should get you patched up.” He didn’t sit down when she motioned to the other chairs. “No. Not hunters.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “I killed him.”   
  
Lydia’s eyes widened surprise coloring her features. Stiles had killed Peter. If it wasn’t for the look on his face Lydia wouldn’t believe that Stiles was capable of killing anyone. But it’s not like Peter was a good person and honestly Lydia was glad he was dead. It was one less thing for her to worry about. “I’m not sorry he’s dead.” She commented. It took her a minute to process the rest of his sentence and she shook her head. “I’m fine, I-I was going for a swim and then I looked up and I was in the woods.” She told him quietly.   
  
“I don’t know how I got there...and the body, oh god.” Lydia felt her body shudder and she swallowed hard trying to get the image of the man cut in half, insides hanging out of his body, out of her mind.   
  
He winced at the shock on her face because it wasn’t something he was proud of. It hadn’t been intentional, but someone was dead because of him all the same. Granted, Peter was a terrible person and the town was probably safer because he was gone, but it still made him feel sick to think about. But then his thoughts shifted as she told him she’d been going for a swim and found herself in the woods.   
  
Alarm made his eyes widen. “Body?” he echoed, shaking his head. “Lydia, what body?”   
  
Lydia glanced up, “When I realized I was in the woods...something made me keep going and then, there was a body,” she whispered, “a guy maybe mid to late twenties,” Lydia’s breathing hitched, “Stiles he was...there were two pieces,” she whispered.   
  
He stared at her for a long moment, trying to process that. Two pieces. Like Laura Hale. Except Peter Hale had done that, and Peter was dead. “The hunters,” he said after a moment. “I wonder if he was a human or if he was…” A werewolf.   
  
Horror crossed Lydia’s face. “Is that what they do to werewolves?” She couldn’t help the worry that immediately filled her. Was Stiles in danger? Why did she care? What about Scott? “Scott’s one too isn’t he?” She asked her thoughts pouring out of her mouth.   
  
He looked down, not surprised that she guessed that. She was a genius, after all, and a person didn’t go from being a benchwarmer to a star lacrosse player overnight without _something_ happening to them. He nodded. “Yeah. He was before I was.”   
  
Lydia nodded, “It’s why Jackson always thought something was off with Scott, and why he told me to talk to you.” Her eyes squinted as she glanced up at Stiles, “And how you both got so good at lacrosse.” She mumbled. Lydia lifted her arm and winced, “Ow,” she said softly closing her eyes for a minute. When she reopened them she glanced at Stiles. “Are you in trouble?” She asked quietly, “Do they know about you?”   
  
“Yeah,” he admitted quietly, looking down for a moment and then lifting his gaze to her arm. He hesitantly moved to stand beside her where she was sitting and laid a hand on her arm, focusing intently and drawing the pain out of her body and into his own. He swallowed heavily, gritting his teeth for a few seconds and then letting his hand fall away from her. “There’s...a pretty strong likelihood that they do.” He looked up at her. “Allison’s parents are hunters. And so is her grandpa.”   
  
The pain ebbed away and when Stiles pulled his hand back she could still see the faint black veins moving up his arm. Lydia glanced down, “Allison...I should have known she knew too,” she said quietly a hint of hurt filling her chest. Everyone knew but her obviously. Jackson must know too or he wouldn’t have told her to talk to Stiles. Apparently people didn’t trust her with their secrets, then again had she really ever given anyone a reason to? Lydia sighed. “How’d you do that?” She asked finally pointing to her arm.   
  
He could hear the hurt in her voice. “To be fair, Allison’s only known about all of this since the night of the Winter Formal. Before then it was literally just me and Scott and --” He hesitated. “And Derek.” He sighed softly. “Jackson figured things out on his own not that long ago, but he doesn’t know about me as far as I know. Just Scott.” He rose to his feet once more. “And that’s...one of the few cool things about all of this. Werewolf pain-drain.”   
  
Lydia watched Stiles for a minute not able to help the half smile that pulled at her lips. “It is pretty cool,” she agreed softly. “It looks like you saved me again,” she whispered, “Thank you.” She responded sincerely as she met his gaze. “I don’t know who Derek is,” she admitted, “But at least now things make more sense.” Lydia paused, “Well everything except how I lost time and wound up in the woods ready to go for a swim,” she motioned at her body that was barely covered by the cover up. “And how you knew I was out there,” Lydia commented curiously with an arched brow.   
  
He reached out and grabbed one of the other chairs, sitting down beside her, expression troubled. He didn’t let his gaze linger on her body. He rested his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know how you lost time and wound up in the woods,” he admitted, twisting his fingers together. “But I was driving and I heard you scream. You sounded terrified.”   
  
Lydia arched an eyebrow, “Well I found a dead body, one that was severed in half.” She swallowed heavily, “You’d probably be terrified too.” She said quietly as she gripped her knees tightly.   
  
“It wasn’t a judgment,” he assured her softly. And it wouldn’t be the first dead body that he’d seen either. Normally if someone found a dead body he’d be calling his dad to report it, and maybe that still needed to happen, but Stiles wanted to check it out first. Maybe with Derek. He’d been around this kind of thing a lot more often than Stiles or Scott had. “We’ll figure it out.”   
  
Lydia nodded. She sat there quietly for a minute before breaking the silence in her kitchen. “When did it happen?” She asked quietly.   
  
“What, exactly?” Stiles asked carefully.   
  
Lydia gave him a look. “You know what I’m asking.”   
  
He exhaled, leaning back in his chair. “Not long ago. Just a couple weeks.” He didn’t look at her.   
  
Lydia frowned when he wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Stiles, what is going on? Tell me what happened,” she said her brows drawing together as she leaned forward on her chair hesitating before reaching out to him and resting a hand on his arm. “How did it happen?”   
  
Stiles looked down at her hand, chest tightening at the concern in her voice. “Peter,” he admitted. “He bit me. He’s the one who bit Scott, too.” He finally lifted his gaze to meet hers.   
  
Lydia nodded and then paused, “Wait, but if he turned you and Scott,” her hand dropped to her side, which was practically fully healed at this point, the light impression of teeth never fully leaving her skin. “He bit me too? Does that mean-” Lydia’s voice trailed off as her heartbeat picked up speed anxiety curling in her stomach. She couldn’t be a _werewolf_. That just didn’t make sense.   
  
“You’re not a werewolf,” he said quietly, reaching out and covering her hand with his own. “We definitely would have known by now considering the full moon just happened. You would have shifted. You would have known.” He squeezed her hand gently before letting it go.   
  
Lydia let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, “Okay,” she said softly. She shook her head. “This whole thing really shouldn’t be this easy to believe,” Lydia told Stiles as she caught his gaze, “But...it’s Beacon Hills and some weird crap happens here.” She admitted. Lydia leaned back in the chair watching Stiles for a minute and noticing how uncomfortable he looked. “Would you like to stay?” She asked her tone light, “Or will you be okay out there with all those hunters?”   
  
He smiled very faintly but it didn’t reach his eyes. She wasn’t wrong about Beacon Hills, that was for sure. “If you’re here alone, I should probably stay. At least one of those hunters saw you tonight and if they were out hunting for wolves, they clearly think you _are_ one.”   
  
Lydia sighed, “Lovely,” she glanced down at herself and winced at how disheveled she looked. “I should probably shower and change.” She pushed herself up onto shaky legs and blew out breath. “You can wait upstairs if you want.”   
  
Stiles rose to his feet, as well. “I’ll get it sorted out,” he said quietly, earnest in a way that would have stood up to Scott McCall’s version of earnestly. “And you’ll be fine.”   
  
Lydia had the strangest urge to hug Stiles, but she repressed it and nodded instead. “Thanks,” she said softly before reaching out and resting a hand on his arm, “And thanks for saving me again. I know I already said it, but,” Lydia paused, “It seems like whenever I’m in trouble you're there lately and that’s...well it’s really nice of you. And I want you to know that I appreciate that.” Her chest tightened. Stiles had been there for her more in the past three weeks than her own mother had been lately and then Jackson had been like ever. It was a little weird, but not in a bad way.   
  
“Yeah, well. I mean most of it has been because of the supernatural crap that Scott and I are wrapped up in,” he said, looking down. “I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into the middle of all of it.” As much as he wanted to get to know her, _really_ know her, he didn’t want it at the cost of her safety or her life.   
  
“Oh,” Lydia tried not to be disappointed at his comment. She wasn’t exactly the nicest person and Stiles of all people knew that. She hadn’t been very nice to him over the years. So, it made sense that he was just cleaning up his mess so to speak, but at the same time she felt like maybe it was more than that. Or she thought it was. Their talk at the hospital had been a bit of an eye opener to her.   
  
It was one of the reasons Lydia let him take her to lunch that day at school. He seemed to know her, the _real_ her and yet Stiles still enjoyed her company. And for Lydia that was rare. She pushed her thoughts away and sent him half a smile, “You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault and I’m fine. A few cuts and scrapes won’t kill me.”   
  
Stiles looked up at her. It wasn’t the cuts and scrapes that worried him, but he didn’t say so. He simply nodded, managing a faint smile in return. “Yeah.” His gaze drifted down to her bare arm. The bleeding had stopped, but there was dried blood on her skin and he winced. “You should probably...get that taken care of. I’ll just wait.” And he’d text Scott and Derek to let them know what had happened.   
  
Lydia nodded, “Okay, you can wait here or upstairs...or in the living room.” She shook her head, “There’s a lot of places to wait. I won’t be long and Stiles you can stop looking so worried. Everything is okay now.” She said dropping her hand from his arm as she sent him a small smile and started to turn around so she could head upstairs and shower.   
  
He exhaled as he watched her head away and he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck before pulling his phone out. Everything was pretty far from okay. He wasn’t sure things were ever going to be truly _okay_ again.


End file.
